“Credit to Lewis and McLaren – they have a quick car and we’ve been bumped off the front row for the first time in a while,” he said.

“We did the best we could, it was a pretty smooth qualifying and we’re still a long way up the grid. There’s a little bit of friendly fire going on which we need to tidy up.

“Seb’s still involved in the drivers’ championship and there’s the constructors’. The car is working pretty well on Sundays but Lewis and Jenson have done some pretty strong long runs as well.”

Vettel added: “I’m not entirely happy with the last part of qualifying. It was quite tricky for me. I should have been a little quicker. I think we can be happy overall. The race pace should be good tomorrow. I’m looking forward to it.”

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso endured a dismal session and will start from seventh on the grid, severely hampering his chances of closing the 13-point gap to championship leader Vettel.